2A
Monday, March 18, 1996
U N I V E R S I T Y D A I L Y K A N S A N
Asian-American theater group affects attitudes
By Susanna Lööf
Kansan staff writer
A good thing about being Asian American is to be able to shop at Gap Kids. A bad thing is that everybody wants to join your study group.
A good thing is that your parents first question when you come home late is, "Did you eat?" A bad thing is to constantly have to prove that you're American.
This list was part of a vignette presented by hereandnow, an Asian American theater company that performed at the Kansas Union Ballroom on Saturday.
About 60 people attended the performance, which was the last event of the two week Asian-American festival.
The nonprofit company's nine actors, including director and producer John Miyasaki, performed skits to expose and explode stereotypes during the nearly two-hour show.
One of the skits told a story of an ancient Korean king whose daughter always cried. The king threatened to marry her to the village fool unless she stop crying, but she still cried.
When the daughter was old enough to marry, the king chose a nice young man for her, but she declined to marry him and went to the village fool instead.
She told the fool to educate himself so that he could marry. He did, they married, and the fool died as a hero in a war.
"This is a wonderful story, Miyasaki said after the skit. "And like many wonderful stories, it has a wonderful moral: You should never make fun of people who are different from you because that's just what they are as people. If you give them a chance, they will succeed."
The members of the 5-year-old Los Angeles-based theater company write most of the material they perform. Several of the actors are students at universities in Southern California.
One of the skits took place in a Los Angeles bus. A businessman, who was riding the bus for the first time because his car was in the repair shop, asked an Asian-American girl in slow, overenunciated English if she knew when the bus would arrive.
She answered in the same manner, and the businessman realized that the girl spoke English as well as he did.
However, that did not reduce the man's stereotypical views, and he started telling the girl about his good Japanese car.
"That's one thing about you people," he said. "You make excellent cars."
When he had got on the bus, the man was exposed to a homosexual, a bum and a prostitute. He reacted with fear and disgust. But as they told the businessman stories from their lives, his attitudes toward them changed.
Changing attitudes also is the purpose of hereandnow's performances, which it gives at colleges and universities across the nation.
"Our job is to communicate," Miyasaki said. "And I think that is a job for everyone, no matter how big or small."
Emmie Hsu, Topeka junior, said she recognized parts of her own life in the show, such as the skits dealing with how people perceive Asian Americans.
She also said she appreciated the show because there was a lack of theater Asian Americans could identify with in the Midwest.
ON CAMPUS
St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center will celebrate Mass at 12:30 p.m. today at Danforth Chapel. Call the St. Lawrence Center at 843-0357 for more information.
KU Study Abroad will sponsor an information session on the Great Britain Direct Exchange Program at 4 p.m. today at 4045 Wescoe Hall. Call Nancy Mitchell at 864-3742 for more information.
KU Women's Rugby will practice at 5 p.m. today at Broken Arrow Park. Call Stacey Stringfellow at 749-3380 for more information.
KU Karate Club will practice at 5:30 p.m. today at 215 Robinson Center. Call Jon Sides at 832-1771 for more information.
International Students Association will meet at 6 p.m. today at the International Room in the Kansas Union.
KU Meditation Club will meet
- Feminist Collective Force will meet at 7 tonight at the International Room in the Kansas Union. Call Regan Conran for more information at 838-9084
KU Yoga Club has yoga class at 7 tonight at the Daisy Hill Room in the Burge Union. Call Adam Miller at 632-0399 or Paula Duke at 542-1930 for more information.
at 6 p.m. today at the Daisy Hill Room in the Burge Union. Call Ravi Hirekrat at 832-8789 for more information.
St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center will have Lenten Invitation discussion at 7 tonight at the Center, 1631 Crescent Road. Call the Center at 843-0357 for more information.
Stranger Than Fiction has a nonfiction essay workshop at 7 tonight at Alcove C in the Kansas Union. Call Allan Grohe at 843-7016 for more information.
House passes bill to finance repairs
By John Collar Kansan staff writer
In explaining her vote against the bill, Rep. Sabrina Standifer, D-Wichita, said poor children from her district would not be admitted to Regents universities after qualified admissions is instituted.
Board of Regents universities are one step closer to receiving funds for capital improvement projects.
By a vote of 66-53, the House of Representatives approved a bill on Friday that includes a $163 million bond issue to finance renovation and repair projects at state universities.
"My message to the Regents is this: If my kids aren't considered good enough to get in to your universities, then don't expect their parents' tax dollars to fund your improvements," Standifer said.
The success of the qualified admissions bill earlier this session played a part in the House debate.
An amendment that would have
paid construction workers on projects the average wage in the area was defeated on Thursday.
Sen. Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said that if the provision was not included, contractors could favor out-of-state workers if they ask for less pay than in-state workers, Hensley said.
The prevailing wage would guarantee that Kansas workers would get the jobs.
"I think it's important for the stability of a lot of working Kansans," Hensley said.
The funds from the bond issue would be used at the University of Kansas for renovations at Joseph R. Pearson Hall and an expansion at Murphy Hall. The University also would make building upgrades mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The House and the Senate each have passed a bill that contains the bond measure, and the next step will be to reconcile the differences.
Weather
Source: The Associated Press
ON THE RECORD
A KU student's mountain bike was stolen between 6 p.m. Monday and 11 a.m. Friday in the 1500 block of West Sixth Street. The bike was valued at $391, Lawrence police reported.
The rear window of a KU student's car was broken between 6 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Thursday in the 1500 block of Kentucky Street. The damage was valued at $150, Lawrence police reported.
The University Daily Kansan (UPSP 650-640) is published at the University of Kansas, 119 Stauffer-Flint Hall, Lawrence, Kan. 66045, daily during the regular school year, excluding Saturday, Sunday, holidays and finals periods, and Wednesday during the summer session. Second-class postage is paid in Lawrence, Kan. 66044. Annual subscriptions by mail are $90. Student subscriptions of $1.86 per semester are paid through the student activity fee.
Postmaster: Send address changes to the University Daily Kansan, 119 Stauffer-Flint Law, Lawrence, Kan. 66045.
KU Student Recreation Center Let Us Know Your Opinion.
Recreation Services Advisory Board Survey - March 1996
As a student, you recently had the opportunity to participate in an election to decide if you would be willing to increase your student recreation services fee for the design, construction and operation of a New Student Recreation Center. This proposal was defeated The Recreation Services Advisory Board and the Recreation Facility Program Planning Committee have received numerous requests to gather additional feedback concerning the proposal and the vote. Your help is needed. Please take a few minutes to answer the following questions.
1) Did you vote? ___Yes ___No
2) What were the factors that influenced your vote? (Check all that apply)
a.___ I support the need for more recreational facility space on campus
b.___ I am not a user of recreational facilities
c.___ I was unaware of the new student recreation center project
d.___ I was unaware of the referendum vote
e.___ I felt that the proposed $90 semester fee was too high
f.___ I did not like the proposed project plan; I would like to have had alternative choices
g.___ I did not like the proposed West campus location for the new center
h.___ I do not want to pay for something that I would never use
i.___ This project would not be of benefit to me
j.___ I do not believe there is a shortage of recreational facilities on this campus
k.___ I did not recognize the polling sites during the two day referendum vote
l.___ This project should not have been decided by a Student Referendum vote
m.___ The information I received about the project was unclear
n.___ I do not want my student restricted fee paying for building projects
4) What would be the maximum fee you would be willing to pay per semester for the design, construction and operation of additional campus recreational facilities?
(Check only one) ___$0___ $20___ $40___ $60___ $80
3) How did you learn about the Recreation Facility project? (Check all that apply)
a. __The University Daily Kansan d. __Informational brochure
b. __Word of mouth e. __Informational meetings
c. __Table displays f. __KU Facts Web Page
5) Do you support the Recreation Services Advisory Board and the Recreation Facility Program Planning Committee's continued effort to assist in the development of a new proposal to provide additional campus recreational facilities?
Drop off your survey at 400 Kansas Union (The office of Organizations & Acitivities) or In 208 Robinson (The Recreation Services office) by Wednesday, March 20
Yes ___No
6) Additional Comments:
Thank You.
MASTERCRAFT
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